BEHIND CLOSED DOORS: PIERRE FREY

The heritage French fabric house has harnessed the joie de vivre of Provence to inspire its latest collection

- Judy Diamond

It must be nice to work for Pierre Frey. Most companies in the mood for a brainstorming session would get the staff together over Zoom or around the table in some drab meeting room. The Paris design house, seeking inspiration for a new range of textiles, carpets and wallpapers, took the gang on a road trip to Provence, so they could soak up the sun and the atmosphere, experience the region with all their senses, and come back to the studio revitalised and raring to go.

This is a firm that has always trodden its own path. Founded during the interwar years, it made its name producing exuberant designs referencing everything from the belle époque to the Far East, with the resulting products all fabricated using time-honoured techniques. The combination of dazzling design and superb craftsmanship has elevated the business to the very highest end of French manufacturing (it’s a member of the Comité Colbert, alongside the likes of Hermès, Château d’Yquem and Givenchy, which promotes “la transmission d’une tradition et d’un savoir-faire” – the value of artisanal skills.

The original Pierre Frey, born in 1903, started out as a furniture polisher for an antiques dealer, before moving into millinery and fabrics. Today, the company is still family-owned, headed by Pierre’s son Patrick and his sons Pierre, Vincent and Matthieu. Patrick joined the business at 21 and took over the day-to-day running in 1969. In his time at the helm, the firm has acquired several heritage looms, such as Braquenié (an old Parisian carpet and textile manufacturer with an unrivalled archive of designs dating back to the 1820s), as well as the revered Fadini Borghi, Boussac and Le Manach.